Following their disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers, there was noise around the league that the Detroit Lions weren't a championship-caliber team since losing coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson. But after their dominating 52-21 win versus Johnson’s Bears last week, any concern was seemingly put on hold. It’s still early to say the Lions are officially back, as new coordinators John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard have only coached two games, but so far, they’re doing a fine job.
However, both coordinators face a difficult task in preparing for a highly anticipated Monday night matchup against the Ravens in Baltimore. Head coach Dan Campbell has already applied pressure on Sheppard to have the defense ready against the league's top offense, saying that, "We can't give anything away on defense. We've gotta be very disciplined," per Lions insider Eric Woodyard.
Lions DC Sheppard Must Limit Ravens’ Offense
Although we’ve only had two weeks of play, we can unofficially crown the Ravens as having the best offense. In their two games, their offense has been explosive, combining for 81 points and averaging 6.5 yards per play on only 103 plays, which is tied for the third-fewest plays in the league.
They’ve always had a lethal offense, but this is arguably the best all-around offense they’ve had surrounding Lamar Jackson during his tenure. The three-time MVP award winner has Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman, and Mark Andrews as his options through the air, while having Derrick Henry in the backfield.
This daunting matchup will be Sheppard’s first challenge as defensive coordinator. So far, his unit has performed alright at best, ranking 17th against the run (106), 12th against the pass (196.5), tied 16th in sacks (4), and 21st in points allowed (24).
This week, facing an intimidating offense, he must prepare his unit to limit the big plays from their high-powered offense. The Ravens are tied for the most 40-plus rushing yard plays (2) and are tied for the fifth-most 20-plus passing yard plays (8).
Sheppard’s unit has allowed the fourth-most 20-plus passing yard plays (7) but has only allowed one 20-plus run play. The focus for the defense this week should be loading up the box to contain Henry and emphasizing not giving the Ravens’ playmakers any open space to make big plays on the run.
Last week, the Browns were able to take out the Ravens' run game, giving up only 45 rushing yards, with Henry only having 23 yards on 11 carries. Despite the Browns’ loss, it made the Ravens one-dimensional, heavily reliant on Jackson through the air.
While there’s no answer to containing Jackson and shutting down their offense, Sheppard should emphasize stopping the run and try to get to Jackson without blitzing. The Lions, after having no sacks against the Packers, were able to get four last week and will need to get after Jackson in passing situations.
It’s going to be a challenge for the defense, but they must limit the Ravens and give Jared Goff and the offense a chance to outscore them.